Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection [DVD]

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in a classy classic manner and even if his settings were not familiar to me as a Filipino, I appreciated his stories because of the universal messages in them: love of a husband to a wife, a son to a father, a father to his child, etc; the evil in greed especially when it comes to riches and money; that men can be truly friends without homosexuality getting in-between; that we have to respect the people we work with; always be wary of the people around you; and that, if used in moderation, cocaine and morphine can actually make you sharper. I cringed while typing the last one. Musicians: Alexander Balanescu, Leonard Friedman, Richard Friedman, Michael Haslam, Ian Humphries and Abigail Young

When Conan Doyle started writing about the private detective, Holmes was a self-proclaimed anomaly, something that didn’t really exist in our world or at any point in history. Watson's not wasting any time here. So we learn, in two sentences, that Holmes is: not fond of other people, ridiculously smart, kind of a drug addict, working unofficially to fight crime and, as if I couldn’t say it enough -- ridiculously smart!I am new to audiobooks. There is a certain point in the evenings where my eyes tire and I have no interest in watching TV, so these audiobooks keep me company in the watches of the night. I also take them to bed where they help me drop off to sleep. I know the stories so well that I don't have to worry that I will miss anything important. Starring one of radio's great double acts, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, as Holmes and Watson, and with guest stars including Brian Blessed, Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Andrew Sachs, Peter Davison, Robert Glenister and Harriet Walter, this definitive collection contains over 48 hours of enthralling listening. I have solved the case, Watson." He sat up, brushing a fried egg from the lapel of his dressing gown. "Allow me to elucidate." I really liked the experience and I am proud of this accomplishment. My first time to read a canon. Before reading this, I thought that the word canon only applied to biblical works. Well, that was the first thing I learned upon adding this book in my currently-reading folder.

Nota bene: Долуописаната сцена не е част от никоя от историите на сър Артър Конан Дойл. Всяка прилика с фикционални лица и събития обаче е напълно преднамерена.

There are passages of beauty, moments of suspense, and many, many quotables. It is addicting. We as readers, are drawn in and become the detective, too. Now, I won't even try to review so much material, as the stories are many and vary widely. All I can say is that I enjoyed the whole collection in general, specially the novels, but then I'm not that keen a reader of tales and short stories. A remarkable undertaking... applauding them, and particularly Clive Merrison's Holmes, made my hands sore' The Times We can discuss that once we are on the train," replied Holmes firmly. And, true to his word, he said no more until we were comfortably ensconced in the First Class carriage of the Dover Express. Looking more closely, except for the novellas, A Study in Scarlet and The Valley of Fear, the unadapted, weaker episodes could be found in the last three volumes of the Holmes’ books.

There are other details that seem impossible to not notice: the fact that, despite Holmes and Watson being clearly hetersexual, their relationship is nevertheless odd, that Holmes was a high-functioning autistic (Asperger's, my guess), and that Watson was a terrible doctor, seeing as how he treated every patient with brandy regardless of their ailment. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it. I proceeded to read all of the unadapted stories and did not remember a one of them and found some of them quite terrible. I can say, unreservedly, nothing was lost in not adapting them.

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My overall rating is 4.5 stars for the entire bind up. I do list each story and my rating individually, as well as my average rating for each collection.* The Adventure of the Devil's Foot (Last Bow) - 4 starsMaybe I am just strange but I always enjoy stories that either "speak" to me or at least "surprise" me. I have no idea how I let myself get so long in the tooth before finally settling down and reading this collection. Suffice to say I am glad I finally came to my senses.